.bwalignc {text-align: center} .bwlistitemmargb {margin-bottom: 10.0px} .bwuline {text-decoration: underline} Audiences are disengaging from even popular programming, with more than 1 in 3 viewers reporting they have given up on shows because they became too difficult or costly to watch AMSTERDAM & SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO), the global leader in entertainment technology and audience insights, today released findings from a sponsored survey of pay TV and over-the-top (OTT) service subscribers in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The global study is a follow-up to Rovi's 2015 consumer survey, delving deeper into how viewers engage with content and explore the services and devices that make up their entertainment lifestyle.
Above all, this year's survey revealed that viewers continue to feel the shockwaves of an industry that is undergoing a significant transition. Ensuring predictable ongoing engagement of audiences, once the hallmark of a successful television series, may be becoming much more challenging.
The survey revealed that while consumers continue to consume significant hours of entertainment content daily, their viewership is becoming potentially more transient, with many viewers show dumping -giving up on shows they love because it became too difficult and/or costly to access them.
37 percent of global viewers have stopped watching a show they previously enjoyed because it became too difficult to access the content
Shows most cited as ones which respondents had stopped watching are ones that generally require a premium pay-TV package, are only available through paid OTT and/or are unavailable on OTT services that aggregate content
On average, respondents spend 4 hours each day watching or streaming video content and an additional 19 minutes per day searching for something to watch, with the U.S. average eclipsing the global average with more than 5 and half hours of viewing time per day
Cord shaving continues to be more predominant than cord cutting, with more consumers considering downgrading pay-TV packages as they are supplementing their services with subscription OTT and streaming media devices.
On average, 11 percent of all global respondents say they are extremely likely to downgrade their service instead of canceling, while 8 percent say they are extremely likely to cancel their pay-TV service in the next 6 months
Not surprisingly, the results in the U.S. were significantly higher than the global average. A staggering 21 percent stated they are extremely likely to cord shave and downgrade their pay-TV service, while only 13 percent are strongly considering cutting the cord all together.
Multiple points of access for OTT is now the norm with 58 percent of respondents reporting they already pay for more than one subscription streaming video service and 45 percent reporting that they have more than one streaming media device in their home
While Netflix is one of the most popular SVOD services across multiple regions, the race for leadership in the streaming media device space is not yet settled.
Of the respondents who pay for streaming services, 81 percent in the U.S. report having Netflix, with another 69 percent in the UK, 64 percent in France and 38 percent in Germany
Amazon Prime Video is also faring well globally, with 50 percent of respondents in the U.S. subscribed, as well as 49 percent in the UK, 61 percent in Germany and 28 percent in Japan
Reported ownership for media streaming devices, such as Roku, Amazon Fire, Google Chromecast and Apple TV, mostly fall in a tight band with similar results of 20-30 percent for each device brand in available regions
Roku emerged as the device of choice for U.S. cord cutters and cord nevers, with remarkably higher reported ownership of 38 percent versus less than 20 percent reported for each of the other streaming media device brands with the same audience
Overwhelmingly, consumers feel there is much room for improvement when it comes to search and discovery. Millennials, in particular, showing the strongest desire for better discovery solutions. Since they are the generation consuming the most content across the most platforms, this implies that Millennials clearly translate better discovery into a value proposition which attracts them to the video services they use.
More than 47 percent of all respondents agree that for the amount they pay for video service(s), it should be easier to find what they want to watch
40 percent of viewers turn off the TV and/or device and disengage all together when they can't find something to watch
In the U.S., 73 percent of Millennials have streaming devices at home and 91 percent are SVOD subscribers, in contrast to 29 percent and 50 percent of Boomers
U.S. Millennials also spend more than 6 hours per day watching content, with another 32 minutes searching or likely browsing for what to watch
53 percent of Millennials say they often expect recommendations on what else to watch, in sharp contrast to the 14 percent of Boomers and 36 percent of Gen Xers
Indications from the research are that better search and recommendations can drive increased viewer engagement and viewing time.
Consumers most satisfied with their search function watch almost 7 hours of content per day, 21 percent more than the U.S. reported average of 5.6 hours
Consumers most satisfied with their recommendation function watch 7.5 hours of content per day, a massive 34 percent more than the U.S. reported average of 5.6 hours
Shifts in viewer engagement, like show-dumping, impact the whole value chain, further challenging business models in a fragmented marketplace with many different viewing choices, said Paul Stathacopoulos, vice president of strategy and strategic research, TiVo. Unified discovery and seamless access to content removes some
